KOLKATA - Auto major Tata Motors Monday said it would hike wages of its employees this fiscal despite the effects of the slowdown, though the increment may not be in tune with that of previous years.

‘There are companies that haven’t raised wages this year but we are definitely looking at giving wage increases,’ Tata Motors human resource vice-president S.J. Tambe told reporters here on the sidelines of a business conference.

The company is yet to finalise its wage increment structure and the announcement would be made on July 1, Tambe said.

During the last three years, the average wage increment was around 12-13 percent.

‘The increment would be in single digit this year,’ Tambe said.

Since last year, Tata Motors has decided to pursue a policy whereby increments are being given to the overall cost-to-company level, while raising the basic salary component was restricted, he added.

‘We reduced the amount of increase that would go into the basic pay and introduced what is called merit allowance that is linked to performance,’ Tambe said.

Talking about the laid off casual workers from Tata’s Jamshedpur factory, Tambe said most of the over-700 workers employed at Tata Motors have been reinstated.

The company had laid off some of its casual workers in October and November after the block-closure of production at Jamshedpur following the economic slowdown.